Main Discussion
Globalization and technological development and advancements outline the major impacts of the external environment on the businesses, social and other landscapes. The contemporary economic arena is becoming more complex, due to the growing individual mobility, access to digital technology and globalization of supply chains. With that in mind, it is interesting to analyze the mutual influence of globalization and the information systems and the role that Management Information Technology (MIS) plays in enhancing globalization and, on the contrary. How globalization impacts the IS on the international scale.
First of all, globalization is defined as the process of interaction and integration among individuals, groups and organizations, driven by international trade and investment as well as the information technology (Sadler 136). The basic definition suggested by Sadler outlines the relationships between the information technology, innovation and digitalization of the society and the internationalization of the businesses.
Secondly, to better understand this relationship, it is important to define the MIS. According to Bagad (2009), MIS is the set of technologies and solutions to manage the decision-making process in the organizations through the focus on effectiveness and efficiency of operations. MIS can include a wide range of systems, from transaction processing, decision support and expert systems to customer relationship management. MIS is n academic discipline, which studies the relationships between individuals, organizations, and technology.
The point of this discussion is how the MIS and globalization affect each other and what are the consequences and benefits of this interaction. On one side, globalization brings complexity to the activities of the companies and makes organizations more concerned with regards to the ability to remain flexible and responsive to the growing diversity of the market and, at the same time, be in control over the governance structure. MIS provides companies with knowledge innovation, the digital technology which enables wider access to all levels of stakeholders as well as more detailed and coherent customer information. This knowledge and automatization of internal upstream and downstream processes bring significant benefits to the companies, but, at the same time, challenges their ability to guarantee the security of information and safety of transactions. Additionally, the costs of building efficiency and effectiveness change as the MIS brings innovative and more efficient solutions to the market. Globalization, in turn, drives the direction in which MIS develops as it sets the trends, based on individual, governmental and organizational needs and expectations. One of the examples of this influence is the shift to cloud computing, where the innovation in information technology responded to growing size of the organizational data transaction and increasing costs of the system update and maintenance. The above is a simple outline of the mutual influence of the technology and digitalization on globalization and the impact of globalization on the direction, in which innovation in MIS is moving. While it is evident that globalization will continue creating numerous opportunities on the market and will enable organizations to build on sustainable business models, it is possible to argue that some of the most recent concerns, such as social and environmental impact of the organizations on the communities in which they operate, will further shape the development of MIS.
Classmate Post I
The discussion of my colleague on globalization and the information system is very specific. The author provides a general definition of globalization and the information systems, which gives the reader an understanding of the further arguments. The discussion is centered on specific benefits and solutions, offered by MIS to the companies. Some of the examples, provided in the text is the role of MIS in the contemporary communication process and data collection. The argument is strong, as it is evident that information technology has created a strong support base to the companies with regards to their ability to understand the external market environment and create strategies, which more specifically address the competency gap. When it comes to the discussion of the overall contribution of technology to the social and business world, the author outlines the importance of this technology in helping to address cross-cultural diversity and become more effective in transaction systems and the international financial environment. The example from the field, where the author is currently employed demonstrates how specific CRM and customer-driven solutions can automize and simplify the process of hospital interaction with the clients. This example helps to get an insight into how the data collected from the customers can be utilized in the future the healthcare organizations to improve and enhance their customer proposition and treatment.
One of the important aspects, which have not been touched upon in this works is the negative impact of MIS on globalization and organizational activities and the risks, which companies and individuals should consider when it comes to digitalization of interactions between individuals and companies. There is a lot of room for this discussion, as it is evident that such issues, related to privacy, security of personal data and invasion of privacy by some organizations. These concerns are on top of academic and business agenda for the past decade.
Classmate Post-II
The second discussion, which attracted my attention touches upon the specific issues, which the author sees in globalization and digitalization of the information. One of the major concerns, expressed in the text is the "invasion" of cultures and the need to be more careful when it comes to cultural diversity. While the author does not elaborate much on the idea, it is possible to drive some important conclusions. Indeed, information technology and globalization significantly increased international mobility of individuals, giving access to the more diverse social environment. At the same time, this tends received a lot of criticism in terms of the impact that it has on cultures. One can argue that globalization dilutes the identity and creates commonness. This is considered a significant threat to all the societies and the even business environment. Secondly, it is evident the contemporary solutions in MIS offer new opportunities not only for the companies but for individual users, opening social media websites, easier and cheaper access to up-to-date information and mobility. This, on the other hand, takes out the control over the flow of information and the ways in which this information is used by some groups of populations. Some of the major risks are associated with more sensitive groups of population, such as children and teenagers, which have free access to the information through social media and search engines. Globalization benefits the society in terms of increasing awareness with regards to the major international and local issues but is should be seen in the context of the above-mentioned issues and the impact on the global culture and maintaining the identity of the nations (Hofstede 15-21). This concern is multifaceted. On one side, globalization is seen by many as a negaitve impact on the uniqueness of culture. On the other, it creates a number of complications in terms of dealing with diversity on cultural and employment level. Globalized business deals with a variety of laws and regulations in formal and informal level. This means that the companies in the globalized business environment are more sensitive to the compliance with international and local labor regulations, environmental laws and social justice perception.
Works Cited
Sadler, Philip. Strategic Management. 2nd Edition. London: Kogan Page Limited. 2003. Print.
Hofstede, Gert. Culture Consequences. Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. London: Sage Publications. 2001. Print
Bagad, S. Vilas. Management Information Systems. 4th Revised Edition. Pune: Technical Publications Pune. 2009. Print.
